Check or ticket punch.



pan s'rairns ran! FRED FARROW, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR'TOEMFIRE TICKET COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACI-IUSETTS,A VOLUNTARYASSOCIATION OF MASSAGI-IUSE'ITS.

CHECK OR TICKET PUNCH.

Application filed April 6, 1916.

invention relates i punches used in restaurants for punching holes incustomers checks to indicate the amount owned by the customer, and ithas for its object to provide a simple and durable punch adapted tobeeasily and convcniently manipulated in the performance of itsfunction.

The invention consists in the improvements which I w1ll now proceed todescrlbe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification:Figure 1 reprethe guide.

sents a side view of a punch embodying my invention; F 1g. 2 representsa plan vlew of the same; Fig. 3 represents an enlarged section on line33 of Fig.2; Fig. 4E represents an enlarged end view of the plunger;Fig. 5 represents a view similar to Fig. 3, showing a different form ofmeans for pre venting the withdrawal of the plunger from The samereference characters indicate the same or similar parts in all theviews.

In the drawings, 12 represents a looped resilient handle having at oneend an arm 13 which is perforated to form a guide 14;.

has two oppositely inclined flat faces 18- and 18 which meet to form anobtuse angle 18. Each face by the intersection of its outer margin withthe periphery of the plunger forms a cutting edge which is inclinedrelatively'to the longitudinal axis of the plunger. The face 18 isextended forward farther than the face 18*.

To the guide arm 13 is attached an ear 19, the outer portion of which isseparated Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 18,1916.

Serial No. 89,256.

from said arm by a check-receiving throat 20. Said ear is provided witha female cutting the, preferably by forming therein an orifice 22, inwhich the male cutting die has a close sliding fit, said dies beingformed to cooperate in punching a hole in a check or ticket inserted inthe throat 20. The ear 19 is preferably detachably connected to the arm13 by screws 24, so that when the female die becomes worn, a new one canbe substituted for it. i v

The handle 12, which is preferably a strip of steel, is normallymaintained by its own resilience with the arms 13 and separated.

sufficiently to retract the plunger from the throat 20. The handle isformed to be grasped and compressed by one hand of the user. lVhen thehandle is thus compressed the plunger is projected through the throat 20and into the female die, and punches at check or ticket in said throat.I

To compensate for the changes in the angular positions of the arms 13and 15 caused by the compression of the handle, I provide a looseconnection between the plunger. and the arm 15, preferably as follows.The arm 15 is provided with a plunger-receiving orifice 29 oflargerdiameter than the plunger. A pin 30 passes through said orifice andthrough an orifice 31 in the plunger, of greater diameter than the pin.The plunger is therefore movable loosely in the arm and on the pin, sothat it is adapted to reciprocate freely in the guide 1 1- withoutbinding or sticking. WVhen the grip, of the operator on the handle isrelaxed, the expansion of the handle retracts the plunger.

The side of the check-receiving throat formed by the female die isarranged to support a check with its sides at right anglcs to thelongitudinal axis of the punch. h en the punch is projected the twocutting edges above described act successively to a certain. extent, thecutting edge of the face 18 commencing to out into the check before 7the cutting edge of the face 18 commences to cut. I find that thissuccessive action of the two cutting edges enables. a check to bepunched with less muscular effort than would be required if both'edgescommenced to cut simultaneously.

I am aware that the cylindrical male member of a punch has been providedwith a single fiat end face inclined relatively to the axis of themember so that its intersection with one side of the periphery of saidmember forms an acute angled edge portion. The intersection of said facewith the opposite side of the periphery of the male member necessarilyforms an obtuse angled edge portion which experiences greater resistancein cutting, and requires the application of greater force than the acuteangled edge portion. I am also aware that it has been proposed to form aconcave face on the end of a cylindrical male member, said face being soarranged that a continuous or annular acute angled cutting edge isformed by its intersection with the periphery of the member, said edgebeing in a plane which is inclined relatively to the axis of the malemember. Such concave face can only be formed and ground to sharpen thecutting edge by a special tool having a convex face and not capable ofbeing reciprocated crosswise of the axis of the punch member, suchspecial tool being therefore necessarily operated slowly and withconsiderable difficulty.

The flat faces 18 and 18 of my improved plunger obviate the objectionsabove recited, each face having an acute angled cutting edge. Said facescan be readily formed and reduced or cut away to sharpen said edges byan ordinary reciprocating file having a flat face or faces, so that theoperations of forming and sharpening said cutting edges may be quicklyperformed without the use of an appliance especially pro vided.'

I am also aware that the cylindrical male member of a punch has beenprovided with a V-shaped groove in its outer end forming twoacute-angled cutting edge portions of equal height, and thereforecommencing simultaneously to penetrate paper against which they arepressed, so that the entrance of both edge portions into the paper issimultaneously resisted at the commencement of the cutting operation. Myimproved punch member or plunger, having two acute-angled cutting edgeportions of unequal heights and therefore successively commencing tocut, requires less force to cause it to perform its function than aplunger having two cutting edge portions of equal height andsimultaneously commencing to cut.

The looped spring handle 12 constitutes a very simple and convenientmeans for operating the punch, its simplicity being such that anunskilled operator cannot fail to properly manipulate the punch. Thehandle is located at such distance from the punch members that there isno obstruction to the operators view of the same, hence the operator canmanipulate the punch with one hand and hold the check or ticket with theother.

To prevent the entire withdrawal of the on the under side of the arm 15when the plunger is retracted into the guide.

As shown by Fig. 5, the means for preventing the withdrawal of theplunger from the guide may be embodied in an extension 13* of the arm18, said extension being curved so that its outer end portion bears onthe under side of the arm 15. Said end portion may have a guide orificereceiving and guiding the lower end portion of theplunger, said orificeconstituting .a supplemental guide in alinement with the guide 14. i

It is obvious that the plunger having a notch with two flat faces, oneprojecting farther forward than the other, may be used with a guide, aticket-receiving throat, and a female die otherwise constructed andarranged, for example, as shown by my pending application filedSeptember 14, 1915, Serial Number 50,607. I elect to claim said plungerin this application without limiting it to use in a structure whichincludes the elongated barreleshaped guide and the die-carrying armdisclosed by my former application.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A check punch comprising a guide, a plunger movable therein, theouter end of theplunger being provided with a notch having two flatfaces meeting at an angle which extends across the plunger, theintersection of said faces with the periphery of the plunger forming twoacute angled cutting edges which are inclined in opposite directionsrelatively to the axis of' the plunger, one of said faces projectingforward farther than the other, wherebyone of said cutting edges iscaused to enter a check or ticket in advance of the other, an earattached to the guide and provided with a female die separated from theguide by a check-receiving throat having a check-supporting sidesubstantially at a right angle to the axis of the plunger, and manuallyoperated means for projecting the plunger into the throat and die,resilient means being provided for retracting the plunger from the dieand throat.

2. A check punch comprising a compressibleresilient looped handlenormally expanded by its own resilience, an arm on one end of saidhandle, a plunger loosely engaged with and projecting from said arm,another arm on the opposite end of the handle having a guide for saidplunger, and an ear attached to the guiding arm and provided with afemale die separated from the guiding arm by a check-receiving throat,the said arms being held yieldingly separated by the normal expansion ofthe handle to retract the plunger from said throat, and the plungerbeing projected through said throat and into the die by the compressionof the handle, the loose engagement of the plunger with theplungercarrying arm compensating for changes in the angular positions ofsaid arms caused by the compression of the handle.

3. A check punch comprising a compressible resilient looped handlenormally expanded by its own resilience, an arm on one end of saidhandle, a plunger loosely engaged with and projecting from said arm,

another arm on the. opposite end of the handle having a guide in whichsaid plunger has a close sliding fit, an ear attached to the guiding armand provided with a female die separated from the guiding arm by acheclrreceiving throat, the said arms being held yieldingly separated bythe normal expansion of the handle to retract the plunger from saidthroat, and the plunger being projected through said throat and into thedie by'the compression of the handle, and means preventing thewithdrawal of the plunger from the guide.

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature.

FRED FARROW.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). C.

